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September is a really good time to be touring

Dear Fellow Motorhomer,

September is a really good time to be touring. With the school holidays finished, campsites are less busy and excellent weather is still to be found in many regions of Europe. Our tours currently taking place in Croatia, Switzerland and Germany are all enjoying great weather.

Camping Mostar, Croatian Highlights 2023 tour
Camping Luzern, Swiss Magic 2023 tour
Camping Koblenz, Rhine in Flames 2023 tour
This week also see’s the start of the Romantic Strasse tour and the Cyprus and More tour. Being the Mediterranean’s eastern most island and located around 3,000 miles from the UK, travelling overland to Cyprus is a real adventure. Look out for reports from this tour in the next couple of newsletters.

For a far more relaxed tour and a lot closer to home holiday next year, our September 2024 French Atlantic Coast tour is currently being finalised. If you would like to pre-register your interest in this tour, send us an email and this will be done for you. People with pre-registered interest receive the tour itinerary in advance of it being made generally available, giving them first opportunity of requesting a place if desired.

Bookings for our tours are often made 12 months in advance. In addition to securing a place by booking early, a benefit of having a tour booked is the excitement that comes from the planning of a holiday. This gives a positive energy and realisation of what starts as just an idea is becoming a travel reality. For all bookings, GB Motorhome Tours guarantees that the price you pay for your holiday will be the cheapest that the tour is ever offered at. You can book early in full confidence of knowing the tour will never be available cheaper than the price you pay. Whilst many 2024 tours are now fully booked, there currently remains some availability for the following tours. To see the full tour itineraries, click on the tours name. Bookings for these tours can be made on the GB Motorhome Tours website.

  • Dec 2023/Jan 2024 – Scottish Hogmanay 10 nights – Welcome in the New Year Scottish style. We start with a traditional Hogmanay Gala New Years Eve dinner and follow this with stays in Edinburgh, Loch Lomond and Sterling. Being winter the tour has a lot of indoor content and group meals included.
  • June/July 2024 – Rhine in Flames 12 nights – Take a picturesque late spring getaway along the River’s Mosel and Rhine. The highlight of this tour will be an evening cruise with supper to see the magnificent Rhine in Flames spectacular firework display.
  • Sept 2024 – Northern Italy’s Treasures 23 nights – Stays in Lake Garda, Pisa, Rome, Florence, Bologna and Venice are all included in this tour of Italy’s north. Many excursions and group meals are included to give you the most from your time in this wonderful country.
  • Sept 2024 – Southern Bavaria 16 nights – Enjoy a relaxed tour of beautiful Bavaria. Travel through magnificent countryside being captivated by Castles and country Palaces, including ‘Schloss Neuschwanstein’ with its fairy-tale turrets and a visit to Berchtesgadener for the ‘Eagles Nest’.

As well as the above tours, there is also a new summer tour of Southern Norway currently being finalised.

For all touring abroad, it’s good practice to carry sufficient prescription medication with you to cover the duration of your trip. Getting these in advance of your tour does not generally give a problem; advise your GP of your needs and they should provide the required prescription in advance of your departure. What we are hearing however, is that for some medications there is a shortfall in supplies, resulting in delays to some prescription medicines being supplied. Do keep this in mind for your forthcoming trips and ensure you obtain the required amount in good time of your departure.

If there is anything you would like to ask about a tour or motorhoming in general, feel free to contact us as we are always happy to answer any questions. We look forward to travelling with you to many great places soon.

Kindest regards,

Your GB Motorhome Tours Team

Tel. 0044 7481 479 057
Info@gbmotorhometours.com
www.GBMotorhomeTours.com

August and the GB Motorhome Tours travel season starts again

Dear Fellow Motorhomer,

August and the GB Motorhome Tours travel season starts again very soon. Next week sees the departure from the UK of the Croatian Highlights tour, followed at the end of the month by those travelling to Germany for the Rhine in Flames Spectacular tour. Then in September, the Swiss Magic, Romantic Strasse and Cyprus & More tours all start. GB Motorhome Tours will have groups travelling throughout the autumn in countries spanning much of Europe and into Asia. As the Cyprus & More tour crosses the Bosphorus in Turkey, they will be leaving Europe and entering into Asia, making their way towards Cyprus. Located in the far east of the Mediterranean, travelling to Cyprus by motorhome is a real adventure.

GB Motorhome Tours in Cyprus – Oct 2022
Before touring restarts, summer in the UK is the main time when the large outdoor motorhome shows take place. A couple of weeks ago, GB Motorhome Tours were at the Norfolk show in Norwich, where it was great to meet many new people interested in motorhome travel and the opportunities that joining an organised tour offer. Next weekend we are at the Western motorhome show in Malvern, where some of our Tour Directors will be on hand at the GB Motorhome Tours stand to chat and answer questions. Do visit us, stand 121 at

We are often asked by those considering joining a tour, ‘what are the major benefits of a GB Motorhome Tours holiday’ ? This is probably best answered by summarising customer comments on what they like about our tours.

•    We travel knowing your Tour Directors are on hand to offer any assistance required
•    Our motorhome pitch is awaiting us upon arriving at the campsite, usually with little check-in procedure as you have looked after this in advance of our arrival
•    We make one booking with you and everything else on the tour is looked after for us
•    Your tours are much more than just taking us to a campsite and leaving us there. Included in every tour are organised excursions with local transport, tour guides and entrance fee’s all included – no need to move our motorhome off site
•    Each tour includes a number of quality group meals, a chance to enjoy local cuisine and wines in like-minded company
•    A comprehensive printed tour pack is sent around one month prior to departure, containing all the information for the tour – campsite details including GPS co-ordinates, route planning, excursion programme, group meals and general information for continental touring, making planning for our holiday easy
•    You include Michelin maps covering the area of the tour within the tour pack, and for most tours, also the DK Eyewitness guide book for the country being visited

When travelling in Europe, particularly the central European countries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, it can be useful to have with you a ‘parking clock’. These are simple devices that you display your arrival time on and they meet the requirement for parking in free carparks that have a time limit for staying. Upon parking, set your arrival time and return within the allotted time permitted to enjoy free parking. ‘Parking clocks’ can be bought cheaply from eBay/Amazon.

If there is anything you would like to ask about a tour or motorhoming in general, feel free to contact us, we are always happy to answer any questions. We look forward to travelling with you to many great places soon.

Kindest regards,

Your GB Motorhome Tours Team

Tel. 0044 7481 479 057
Info@gbmotorhometours.com
www.GBMotorhomeTours.com

July and summer is here, which means …..

Dear Fellow Motorhomer,

July and summer is here, this means our spring tours are all completed and touring takes a break for a short period to allow for the school holidays to pass. Tours in Sardinia, Turkey and Scotland have all recently finished; one review from each tour follows, with more available on the GBMT website at www.gbmotorhometours.com/reviews.

‘This was our first tour travelling with GBMT. We had a wonderful time exploring Sardinia with a great group of people. Ron & Sue were excellent group leaders and worked tirelessly to ensure a great time was had by all. We would highly recommend and we look forward to booking on another tour in the future.’ Debra & Nick Grace – Sardinia – June 2023

‘We would highly recommend this tour – it gave us a feel for the real Turkey and we were impressed by the friendliness of the Turkish people. The organised trips and meals out provided lots of variety and exceeded our expectations. Kevin and Nurcan were brilliant tour leaders, always available to give advice, information and practical help when needed. They were also excellent company, as were the rest of our travel companions. Chris and Ron Stableford – Western Turkey – May/June 2023

‘Michael and Sarita worked very hard to give us things to see on each journey. They were great tour guides and made sure we were all enjoying ourselves. I recommend this tour for the short drives and super campsites accompanied with well chosen dinners.’ Rita and Rod Scott – Scottish Highlands and Royal Deeside – June 2023

Each year GB Motorhome Tours take many motorhomes to a variety of far and wonderful places; in the north as far as Iceland, in the south to the Canary Islands, in the west to Portugal and to the east Turkey and Cyprus, as well as everywhere in-between. However, sometimes people just like to remain closer to home, where also wonderful places can be found. This year, tours in Ireland and Scotland have also taken place.

Camping in Doolin, Western Ireland – June 2023

Camping in Ballater, Royal Deeside, Scotland – June 2023

Another closer to home tour recently arranged for later this year, is the all-new Scottish Hogmanay trip. This is a 10 night tour of Central Scotland with a gala New Years Eve Hogmanay dinner in a 16th century coaching inn. The tour has stays in Edinburgh, Loch Lomond and Sterling. With it being winter, the tour includes a lot of indoor content and group meals. One visit being to the Burrell Collection which just a few days ago won the prestigious 2023 Art Fund Museum of the Year award. The full Scottish Hogmanay tour itinerary is available by clicking on the tour name and tour bookings can now be made on the GB Motorhome Tours website.

Many of those joining this years Ireland and Scotland tours have travelled with GBMT to lots of the far and wonderful places over many years of touring with us. Now just want something with less driving, whilst retaining all the benefits of having everything organised, along with travelling in the company of like minded people, a closer to home tour fits the “bill”. If you are also interested in a closer to home tour for next year, send us an email and this will be registered for you. This means you will be sent the itinerary for such tours in advance of them being made generally available, giving you first opportunity of requesting a tour place if you so wish at that time.

Also for next year, over the next few weeks the Autumn 2024 tour itineraries will be released for tours to Italy, Bavaria and Romania & Bulgaria. If you would like to pre-register your interest in any of these 3 tours, send us an email and this will be done for you.

Before touring restarts this year, GB Motorhome Tours have stands at two of the large outdoor motorhome shows taking place throughout the summer. Here a number of our Tour Director’s will be on hand to chat and answer any travel questions you may have. If you are at either of these shows, do come along and see us.

When travelling throughout the summer months and taking a ferry crossing, it can be useful to have a couple of ice packs in your freezer and upon boarding the ferry place these into your fridge. With the fridge remaining closed throughout the voyage, it’s an effective way to keep the contents in good shape whilst your fridge is off. This is also beneficial to do when undertaking longer ferry crossings at any time of year, where your motorhome fridge will be without power for some time.

Enjoy your summer touring and we look forward to travelling with you again soon. Feel free to contact us if there is anything you wish to ask about a tour.

Kindest regards,

Your GB Motorhome Tours Team

Tel. 0044 7481 479 057
Info@gbmotorhometours.com
www.GBMotorhomeTours.com

June and a number of tours have recently taken place with three still travelling

Dear Fellow Motorhomer,

Over the last month our tours of Southern Ireland, The French Loire Valley and Greece have all completed, with the tours of Sardinia, Western Turkey and The Scotland Highlands & Royal Deeside continuing.

On many continental tours, campsites in great locations can be found.

Camping Alghero, Sardinia June 2023

Camping Manavgat, Turkey June 2023

Customer feedback from completed tours can always be viewed on the GB Motorhome Tours website at www.gbmotorhometours.com/reviews, with one review from each of the recently completed tours following.

‘This was a wonderful tour, blessed with warm sunny weather. The Tour Leaders Karen and John, worked very hard and made things run very smoothly. They also organised some additional optional trips for us. It was nice to meet up with old friends from previous GB Motorhome Tours. Looking forward to the next one.’ Peter Waudby – Southern Ireland – May/June 2023

‘A very enjoyable and informative tour of the Loire Valley. We enjoyed all the varied excursions, boat trips, chateaux, caves and local wines. Our tour Leaders, Brian and Jenny, worked very hard and were excellent company.’ Zoe and Paul Bennett – French Loire Valley – May 2023

‘A brilliant tour enabling us to experience the real Greece. There were so many highlights but it was the hospitality and friendliness of the Greek people that have left a lasting impression. Our Tour Directors Sue and David were excellent, always there to give advice, help and information.’ Phill and Trisha Barrett – Greece – April/May 2023

For the last few years, GB Motorhome Tours have been working to create an exciting and traditional New Year tour. Whilst Covid delayed this development, we are very pleased that we now have the venues in place to offer the opportunity to get away at a time of year when less motorhome travel usually takes place, where we can welcome in the New Year in style. Our all new Scottish Hogmanay tour will take place at the end of this year/start of 2024 and the tour itinerary will be released shortly. This is a 10 night tour of Southern/Central Scotland with a gala New Years Eve Hogmanay dinner in a 16th century ‘Coaching Inn’. The tour then has stays in Edinburgh, Loch Lomond and Stirling. With it being winter, the tour has a lot of indoor content and group meals included.

Before then, with the summer months approaching our tours stop for a short period to allow for the school holidays to pass and start again with the Croatian Highlights tour departing from the UK mid-August. This tour is fully booked for this year, but there are currently spaces on the tour for next year, see Croatian Highlights 2024 tour.

During the summer months GB Motorhome Tours have stands at two of the large outdoor motorhome shows; where a number of our Tour Directors will be on hand to chat and answer any travel questions you may have. If you are at either of these shows, do come along and see us.

With summer approaching and less continental touring taking place, it is a good time to check your passport remains valid and renew if needed. Following the UK’s exit from the EU, the Schengen zone countries (which encompass most of the EU countries) have tightened their rules for UK citizens to enter. For many years, the UK Government issued passports upon renewal, for the normal 10 year life period, plus any remaining months left on the old passport. Some passports were issued with an expiry date up to 10 years & 9 months after issue. The Schengen zone countries will not recognise any passport that is over 10 years old at the time of travel. So it is possible to have a valid UK passport but find that it is not accepted for entry in to many countries. Make a check of your own passport. GB Motorhome Tours advice is to renew any passport that is going to be over 10 years old before the time of return to the UK from any trip. It is also necessary to have 3 months validity remaining on the passport at the date of entry to the Schengen zone. Going forward the situation will be simpler, with the UK government no longer issuing passport’s for longer than 10 years from the date of issue. When renewing your passport allow good time for its return. Current advice from the UK passport office is to allow as much time as possible, which can be up to 8 weeks at the busiest times.

Enjoy your summer touring and we look forward to travelling with you again soon. Feel free to contact us if there is anything you wish to ask about a tour.

Kindest regards,

Your GB Motorhome Tours Team

Tel. 0044 7481 479 057
Info@gbmotorhometours.com
www.GBMotorhomeTours.com

May and there is a lot of motorhome touring taking place

Dear Fellow Motorhomer,

GB Motorhome Tours currently have two tours underway, taking place in Greece and Western Turkey; with three more starting throughout this month; to The French Loire Valley, Sardinia and Southern Ireland. The Greece tour has been spending time in the southern half of the country including wonderful Delphi, where our campsite has far reaching views over large olive tree groves all the way down to the coast.

Camping Delphi, Greece May 2023
The Western Turkey tour has just started out, with tour participants currently making their way across Europe for the beginning of the tour in Italy. Those on the optional travel from the UK with Tour Directors package, have passed through France, Belgium, Luxemburg & Germany and will travel through Switzerland to arrive in Italy. In Germany they stopped at the Black Forrest region of Dahn.

Camping Dahn, Germany May 2023
On all tours, GB Motorhome Tours offers two starting options. You may start on the continent making your own way out from the UK, or you may travel from the UK with the Tour Directors (so in effect start in the UK). This flexibility allows tour participants to choose which works best for them. If selecting the optional travel from UK with Tour Directors package, this offers the opportunity of having everything arranged for you, including cross-channel ferries. The starting point in this instance is a campsite in Kent, the day before the ferry to France. The Tour Directors meet there with those on the optional package and look after everything on route to the tours starting point. Included within the optional package are your return cross-channel ferries, which are fully flexible and include full access to the ships club lounge both ways; the outward on-route campsite nights and usually a group dinner at one of the campsites. Full details of the tours optional package are contained at the end of each tour itinerary.

Our 2024 tour programme is now beginning to get released, with most of the 2024 spring/summer tours available to view and book on the GB Motorhome Tours website. There are some great destinations available for next year and a good number are countries we have not featured for a few years. If there is something you fancy, do make a booking as tours are already becoming fully booked for next year.
With our tours being so popular and becoming fully booked quickly, we are often asked why we won’t increase the group sizes on each tour. Quite simply, tour quality linked with the highest level of customer service is the number one priority for GB Motorhome Tours on all its holidays. Allowing group sizes to become larger affects the standard at which tours can be arranged and delivered, so all tours will remain limited to around 15 guest motorhomes.

The programme of tours for 2024 is listed below, with links to those currently available on the website. Those not yet on the website will be added over the next few months. If you wish to pre-register your interest in a tour not yet available, drop us an email and this will be done for you.

2024 TOURS
April/May – Greece (34 nights)
April/May – Sicily (32 or 44 nights)
June – Poland (26 nights)
June – Southern Norway (20 nights)
June/July – Austrian Alps (16 nights)
June/July – Rhine in Flames (12 nights)
July – Baltic States (23 nights)
Aug/Sept – Croatian Highlights (27 nights)
September – Northern Italy (20 nights)
September – Bavaria (18 nights)
September – French Atlantic Coast (18 nights)
September/October – Romania and Bulgaria (35 nights)
December – Pre-Christmas in Denmark (14 nights)
December – Christmas Markets in the Netherlands (8 nights)

In preparation for taking your motorhome on any tour it is good to check the age of its tyres. Typically, due to the lower mileages most motorhomes travel, their tyres do not get worn out through use, however, once a tyre gets to around 6 years old it begins to reach its recommended safe working life and should be considered for changing. For finding the age of your tyres, on each tyre is a date stamp, this is in the form of four numbers. The first two numbers are the week of manufacture and the second two the year of manufacture. A date stamp of 21/18 equates to week 21 of 2018, meaning the tyre was produced at the end of May in 2018, making it 5 years old as of now. The date stamp is located on the side wall of each tyre, however it is usually only put on one side, so it can sometimes involve looking at the tyre from the inside.

Tyre date stamp

Enjoy your spring touring and we look forward to travelling with you soon. Feel free to contact us if there is anything you wish to ask about a tour.

Kindest regards,

Your GB Motorhome Tours Team

Tel. 0044 7481 479 057
Info@gbmotorhometours.com
www.GBMotorhomeTours.com

April and this is the month when many more locations open up for touring

Dear Fellow Motorhomer,

April is the month when many more locations open up for touring with spring arriving in the Mediterranean areas of Greece, Turkey, Sicily, Spain and Portugal. Our Greece 2023 tour arrived in Greece last week, having had a good sunny drive down from the UK. Crossing through France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, they then took the overnight Italy to Greece ferry, to arrive in Patras, southern Greece the following lunchtime.

Longer ferry crossings form a part of a number of GB Motorhome Tours, either to reach islands or to reduce many miles of driving. Whilst it is possible to drive all the way from France overland to Greece, GB Motorhome Tours include the Italy to Greece ferry crossing into the tour, which reduces around 800 miles of driving to reach the south of the country.

Departing the overnight Italy to Greece ferry at Patras 15/04/2023
Another tour which uses a number of ferry crossings is the Canary Islands tour, which takes place between January and April most years. This years Canary Islands tour participants have now returned to the UK, having left temperatures of 30 degrees in the islands on the 1st April.

Boarding the overnight ferry in Gran Canaria for the return to mainland Spain 01/04/2023
Some customer reviews from the Canary Islands 2023 tour.

‘The only way to tour, with the best guides, giving safety and enjoyment for everyone.’ Ken Starmer 

‘This was our fifth GB Motorhomes tour and second time to the Canaries. As always, the tour was well constructed, taking in mountains, seaside resorts, volcanoes, cities, picturesque villages, historical sites, wineries and much more. Add to this sunshine, good company, good food & drink, friendly experienced guides and you have the perfect way to escape the British winter.’ Jane and Douglas Marsland 

‘A brilliant adventure’ Linda and Mike Reading 

The next Canary Islands tour will depart in January 2025, if you would like to register your interest in this, send us an email and your interest will be registered, so that later this year, as the 2025 tour itinerary is finalised, this will be emailed to you in advance of it being made generally available, enabling you to request a place on the tour at that time if you so wish.

Back in the UK, this weekend the Peterborough Motorhome Show takes place. This is the UK’s largest outdoor motorhome show and for this year, the event takes on a special feeling as it is predicted to be the last of the Peterborough shows, following the local authorities plans to develop the area of the Peterborough showground for other purposes. GB Motorhome Tours will be at the show all weekend, where our stand number is 102, do come along and see us and have a chat with a number of our Tour Directors who will be in attendance for the whole event.

Looking towards next year, some of the earlier 2024 tours are now on the GB Motorhome Tours website, with full tour itineraries available to view along with the tours being available to book. These include the tours of

•    Greece
•    Sicily
•    Poland
•    Rhine in Flames
•    The Baltic States

Click here for the full list of 2024 tours

Before next year there is a full programme of tours for this year. Almost all of these have been fully booked for many months and remain so, there is however one cancellation place that has just become available on the French Loire Valley tour for this May/June. If you would like to join this tour, a booking can be made on the GB Motorhome Tours website or you can email/telephone us and we will complete the booking for you.

With spring arriving and many motorhomes now being made ready for use after a winter break, it’s a good time to clean your motorhomes fresh water tank, pipework and taps with a solution of sterilising water. This can be achieved by adding some sterilising tablets/fluid to your main fresh water tank, allowing them to dissolve/mix in and then pumping the water through to all locations, by opening each of the taps for a couple of minutes. Leave the sterilising solution in the system for 24 hours and then drain down before refilling with clean fresh water. Your motorhome water system will then be clean and ready for your next outing.

We look forward to escorting you and your motorhome to many great places throughout Europe and beyond. Feel free to contact us if there is anything you wish to ask about a tour.

Kindest regards,

Your GB Motorhome Tours Team

Tel. 0044 7481 479 057
Info@gbmotorhometours.com
www.GBMotorhomeTours.com

March and some motorhomes continue to tour in the sun

Dear Fellow Motorhomer,

March and whilst the weather in the UK hasn’t been very good for motorhome touring, the opposite is being enjoyed by those on our Canary Islands tour. They are enjoying full sunny days, with temperatures in the mid to high 20’s. The Canary Islands are well known for their beach resorts, but less well, for also having some great mountain scenery. The tour is currently in Gran Canaria, where the group have been touring both along the coast and in the mountains. The first mountain stop was at a camping near to the traditional Canarian village of Fataga

Camping Molino de Agua, Fataga, Gran Canaria 28/02/2023

Secondly, at a campsite operated by the National Park rangers, which as well as having stunning mountain views, over-looks the Presa de las Ninas reservoir.

Camping at Presa de las Ninas, Gran Canaria 13/03/2023

The next Canary Islands tour will take place throughout January to April 2025. If you may be interesting in escaping the UK winter whilst exploring these wonderful islands, send us an email and your interest will be registered, so that later this year, as the 2025 tour itinerary is finalised, this will be emailed to you in advance of it being made generally available, enabling you to request a place on the tour at that time if you so wish.

Before 2025, there will be a full programme of tours for next year and the 2024 tour summary detailing these is now on the GB Motorhome Tours website. The itineraries for the 2024 tours are beginning to get finalised and will be emailed to those with pre-registered interest in advance of being made generally available on the GB Motorhome Tours website. To register your interest in any of the 2024 tours, simply send us an email of the ones you are interested in, and this will be registered for you. Within the 2024 tours programme are a number of destinations that have not been included in the last few years tours programmes.

Before 2024 there are all the tours planned and prepared for 2023 to enjoy. There now remains availability on just two of this years tours. The first is the Scotland Highlands and Royal Deeside tour which takes place in June and covers much of the great scenery found through northern Scotland and the Royal Deeside regions. The second is the Wonderful Christmastime tour which includes stays in Paris and Epernay, with nights at the Moulin Rouge and Champagne Festival. Remaining places on both tours can be booked on the GB Motorhome Tours website.

If you have been using your motorhome in colder conditions, it is worth having a good quality external thermal windscreen cover, to help keep the cold out and the interior of your motorhome much warmer. These screen covers are also just as good at keeping the heat out when touring in hot conditions, to keep your motorhome cooler inside. As seen being used in the photo’s above from the current Canary Islands tour, to assist in keeping the motorhomes cool.

If there is anything you wish to ask about a tour feel free to contact us, we are always happy to answer any questions. Happy touring to everyone.

Kindest regards,

Your GB Motorhome Tours Team

Tel. 0044 7481 479 057
Info@gbmotorhometours.com
www.GBMotorhomeTours.com

February and some motorhomes are already touring in the sun

Dear Fellow Motorhomer,

GB Motorhome Tours currently have 16 motorhomes away on the Canary Islands tour, where it is possible to holiday in spring like conditions even at this time of year. Being 2,000 miles south of the UK, means the winter is left behind. Another advantage of being this far south at this time of year, is that much longer days are enjoyed, compared to the UK and mainland Europe.

Camping Punta del Hidalgo, Tenerife 18/02/2023
Whilst the Canary Islands are spring like in the winter, rain can sometimes be experienced and this can produce some wonderfully colourful rainbows as the sun shines against the rain.

La Palma, Canary Islands tour February 2023

The Canary Islands tour is the first in the 2023 tours programme, which runs all the way through to the end of the year, with the Wonderful Christmastime tour in December. There remains a couple of places on the Wonderful Christmastime tour, which includes a stay in Paris with a night at the Moulin Rouge and a stay in Epernay for the Champagne festival, with an evening at the wonderful Bank restaurant. The full tour itinerary is available by clicking on the link above, with bookings available on the GB Motorhome Tours website.

Behind the scenes at GB Motorhome Tours, work is currently taking place to finalise the 2024 tour programme. Next years programme features a number of destination that have not been included in tours over the last few years. These 2024 tours will start to appear on the GB Motorhome Tours website in early March, with bookings available from that time. As always, being the UK’s largest motorhome tour company, there will be many exciting destinations to choose from and spanning the whole year, all expertly organised. For an overview of the tours to look forward to, click on 2024 tours programme summary.

We are often asked by motorhomers considering a GB Motorhome Tours for the first time, why do people choose to join a GB Motorhomes Tours holiday. This is probably best answered by some of the thing’s customers say they like about our tours.

•    We travel knowing your Tour Directors are on hand to offer any assistance required
•    Our motorhome pitch is awaiting us upon arriving at the campsite, usually with little check-in procedure as you have looked after this in advance of our arrival
•    We make one booking with you and everything else on the tour is looked after for us
•    Your tours are much more than just taking us to a campsite and leaving us there. Included in every tour are organised excursions with local transport, tour guides and entrance fee’s all included – no need to move our motorhome off site
•    Each tour includes a number of quality group meals, a chance to enjoy local cuisine and wines in like-minded company
•    A comprehensive printed tour pack is sent around one month prior to departure, containing all the information for the tour – campsite details including GPS co-ordinates, route planning, excursion programme, group meals and general information for continental touring, making planning for our holiday easy
•    You include Michelin maps covering the area of the tour within the tour pack, and for most tours, also the DK Eyewitness guide book for the country being visited

If there is anything you wish to ask about a tour feel free to contact us, we are always happy to answer any questions. All of us at GB Motorhome Tours look forward to many great travels with you during 2023 and beyond.

Kindest regards,

Your GB Motorhome Tours Team

Tel. 0044 7481 479 057
Info@gbmotorhometours.com
www.GBMotorhomeTours.com

January and some motorhomes are already touring in summer like conditions

Dear Fellow Motorhomer,

January and for some they are already touring in summer like conditions. 16 motorhomes are now away, heading towards the warmth and sunshine of the Canary Islands. Having left the UK this week, they are currently arriving in southern Spain ready for the sailing to Tenerife on Tuesday.

Cadiz, Spain 14/01/2023 ready for the start of the Canary Islands tour
The Canary Islands offer ideal motorhoming conditions at this time of year, with sunny days and temperatures in the 20’s. The Islands are well known for their warm winter climate, but are usually overlooked for their culture and heritage interests, on this GB Motorhome Tours trip, both can be enjoyed. If you would like the possibility to experience this on the next Canary Islands tour, send us an email to register your interest. The tour itinerary for the next trip will then be emailed to you ahead of it being made generally available, giving you first opportunity of booking a place on the tour if you so wish at that time.

For travel throughout this year, all of the GB Motorhome Tours are now on the website and all are scheduled to proceed as planned. Whilst many of the 2023 tours are now fully booked, there remains some availability on 3 tours plus a cancellation place on another.

•    Scotland Highlands and Royal Deeside – 11th June for 20 days.  Relaxed touring and wonderful scenery as we travel through the Highlands and along Royal Deeside. Enjoy the exceptionally long days that come from being this far north through mid-summer.
•    The Romantic Strasse – 13th September for 14 days. Drive the length of Germany’s most famous road in a leisurely fashion. Take in the quaint towns and the rolling hills at the start, to later arrive at the Castles and Alps, nearing the routes end.
•    Wonderful Christmastime – 4th December for 8 days. Start the build up to Christmas in style with a wonderful tour to Paris and Epernay. In Paris we include an evening at the Moulin Rouge, in Epernay an evening at the Champagne festival. Also group meals at some great French restaurants.

The above tour itineraries can be viewed in full by clicking on the names and bookings can be made on the GB Motorhome Tours website.

There has just become available a cancellation place on the Western Turkey 2023 tour. If this could be of interest to you, send us an email and further details regarding taking your own motorhome to Turkey will be emailed back to you.

For all holidays, GB Motorhome Tours offers the option for participants to start a tour on the continent or from the UK. This gives flexibility for individuals to choose which works best for them. If you have a 2023 tour booking which currently doesn’t have the optional travel from UK with Tour Directors package included and you would now like to add this, it remains possible to do so at this stage. Send us an email requesting the optional package to be added to your booking and this will be done for you, with a confirmation email sent. Full details of each tours optional package can be viewed at the end of each tour itinerary on the GB Motorhome Tours website.

Tours for 2024 will begin to be made available over the next couple of months; these will be added to the GB Motorhome Tours website and featured in future monthly newsletters.

January can be a good time to get things prepared and ready for travels later in the year. For continental travel GB Motorhome Tours recommends all UK travellers have with them the European Health Insurance Card, known by many as the EHIC or E111. Whilst the card has now changed names to the Global Health Insurance Card or GHIC, the scheme itself remains as comprehensive as previous; where it continues to cover all emergency medical treatment in EU member countries. If you already have an EHIC (plastic bank style card) these remain valid until the expiry date, when they can (upon application) be replaced with a GHIC. To apply for a GHIC, if you don’t have an EHIC or it has expired, click on the link below.

Apply for a free NHS issued Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC)

The fact the scheme covers pre-existing medical conditions is an important reason to carry the card with you on all continental tours. Whilst personal travel insurance continues to be required to cover the many things GHIC does not include, the GHIC scheme will supplement your travel insurance in the event of your travel insurance refusing an emergency medical claim.

All of us at GB Motorhome Tours look forward to many great travels with you during 2023.

Kindest regards,

Your GB Motorhome Tours Team

Tel. 0044 7481 479 057
Info@gbmotorhometours.com
www.GBMotorhomeTours.com

December and the 2022 touring year draws to an end

Dear Fellow Motorhomer,

December and the 2022 touring year draws to an end. This also means the start of the next is just around the corner, with our first 2023 tour, The Canary Islands, just 3 weeks away from leaving the UK. Look out for reports of this tour in the January newsletter.

The last tour of 2022 was the Magical Bruges and Amsterdam tour, which saw participants travel from the UK at the start of December, spending time in Belgium and Holland before finishing the tour with a night in France. Taking in the two great cities of Bruges and Amsterdam, tour participants experienced all the wonderful festive lights and events that both cities put on for Christmastime. The groups time in Amsterdam was planned to coincide with the annual Light Festival that takes place there. Our tour group enjoyed this from the comfort of their own private canal barge, complete with evening dinner and drinks on board.

Amsterdam Light Festival
Some customer reviews from the tour.

‘This is the first escorted tour that we have been on and we really enjoyed ourselves. The organization was excellent, the mix of activities and free time was about right. Thank you for all your efforts, much appreciated’ – Maggie & Mike Noone

‘The organisation and planning of this tour was excellent. All meals were varied and very tasty and enjoyable’ – Pat & Robin Hatch

Next years Christmas tour has just been released onto the GB Motorhome Tours website, where there is a great itinerary to look forward to, with visits to Paris and Epernay awaiting. In Paris an evening at the Moulin Rouge is included and in Epernay, an evening at the Champagne Festival. Click Wonderful Christmastime 2023 tour for full details.

2022 has been a varied year for travel. With virtually no Covid-19 travel restrictions now in place, it is easy to forget this wasn’t the situation throughout the whole year. 2022 started with France having a total Covid-19 entry ban on all UK citizens. This resulted in those wanting to get on to the continent with their motorhome during the early part of the year, needed to avoid France in their bid to reach other countries. The restriction impacted on the first GB Motorhomes Tour of 2022, The Canary Islands, where all tour participants had to switch to ferry crossings running direct from the UK to northern Spain, rather than travelling through any part of France.

Thankfully throughout 2022 Covid-19 travel restrictions began to be removed and looking towards travel in 2023, it does appear to be far more settled going forward. GB Motorhome Tours have a great programme of tours in place for next year and these can all be viewed on the GB Motorhome Tours website. Whilst a good number of our tours for next year are now fully booked, there remains some availability for the following tours.

•    Scotland Highlands and Royal Deeside – 20 nights starting 11 June 2023 – Enjoy relaxed touring in beautiful locations of Scotland including the Royal area of Balmoral

•    Rhine in Flames Spectacular – 12 nights starting 31 August 2023 – Travel along the Mosel and Rhine rivers before finishing the tour with an evening dinner cruise to see the famous Rhine in Flames

•    Romantic Strasse – 14 nights starting 13 September 2023 – Drive the length of Germany’s most famous route in a leisurely fashion. From rolling hills, through quaint village to castles and the Alps

•    Wonderful Christmastime – 8 nights starting 4 December 2023 – Spoil yourself before Christmas with this special December tour. Stays in Paris and Epernay are included, with an evening at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, the Epernay Champagne festival and dinner in some fine French restaurants

The above tours are all available for viewing and booking on the GB Motorhome Tours website or by clicking on the above names.

Back here at home and with some really cold weather at the moment, it is recommended cushions and bedding be removed from motorhomes and stored indoors to keep them from becoming damp. However, often the practicality of doing this is not easy, so an alternative can be to periodically run a de-humidifier inside the motorhome to keep moisture levels down. Also doing this for 24 hours before taking your motorhome on a winter trip can be particularly beneficial, ensuring you set out in a cosy & dry van ready for your time away.

As we enter the festive season all of us at GB Motorhome Tours wish you a Merry Christmas, all the very best for the coming New Year and for lots of great motorhome travels in 2023.

Kindest regards,

Your GB Motorhome Tours Team

Tel. 0044 7481 479 057
Info@gbmotorhometours.com
www.GBMotorhomeTours.com